What's good at Lidl?

[Daydreaming]

So, I am a Waitrose/Ocado shopper, also topping up at local shops, BUT food seems to be getting more expensive and I thought I need to start getting at least some of the basics somewhere else, particularly with family staying over Christmas, etc. There is a Lidl close by, so I thought I should give it a go.

We don't eat a lot of meat, but the meat that we do eat I like to have free range/organic, so I will continue to get those from Waitrose (local butcher is great but just as expensive or more than Waitrose). But there must be some stuff that I can get at Lidl?

What's good at Lidl - share with me please !!

(I think one of my problems is that I try to buy natural food, not ready made, fairly healthy, and it seems that kind of food is the most expensive, which is crazy...)

The cheese selection is great! As is a lot of the veg.

Cheeses and some of their cold meats. I also like their Christmas chocolates and their Gingerbread house, as it's cheap and cheerful, so fun to decorate with ds. Their vegetables are not organic, so if important to you it's a no-go, but it's very cheap.

They used to have a lovely coffee yoghurt, but I haven't seen any in last 3 visits (I only ever go every couple of times, and always wish I went more often as some things great value). A bit out of the way for us though.

Oh, I also got some of their own brand nappies today as I read on here it's good, so thought I'd give it a try.

I alternate between Waitrose/Ocado and Lidl. I really like the veg; as well as being cheap it is mostly UK produced; so fewer airmiles.

There are some organic veg available.

Chocolate.

I go to Lidl about once a month for a few things. It's amazing how you can fill a trolley and have only spent about £60.

I would recommend:
Extra virgin olive oil - £2.45 ish for a litre
Tinned tomatoes about 30p
Often soft drinks cheap - we just got a load of Pepsi max for 79p for 2 litres.
Salami/chorizo etc very cheap, they often have whole salamis for a couple of £s.
Greek yoghurt - great big tub really creamy, can't remember price though.
Conitental cheeses - brie, camembert etc 89p
Basic veg - onion, potato, carrot etc all fine and for pennies.
Alcohol can be quite cheap but watch out for the really nasty stuff.
Their nappy brand is also ace.

They also have a lot of Christmas stuff - their very cheap christmas pudding beat the Waitrose one in a taste test, their pannetone is only £3.99 and very nice and their luxury mince pies also very good. They also had stollen and Christmas cake when I was in at the weekend.

I managed to spend £130 on Saturday in there - a lot of alcohol though

Only been once, but they had great cold meats/smoky-sausage-type-stuff and very cheap jams!

Good for washing up liquid, dishwasher tabs etc... all approved by the Good Housekeeping Institute.

Black forest ham, cheese, chocolate, hazelnut rolls (choc wafers), fruit juice, sweets, detergents, nappies, cat food, alcohol.

Random bits and bobs you didn't realise you needed too.

If your dc have packed lunches - the lunch box sized juice cartons.

chorizo extra

the canned tuna in olive oil

potato salad - the one in the fromage frais dressing

neopolitan icecream in wafers thingies

aloe vera toilet paper

their bog standard washing up liquid

Ah, thanks Mistymoo, I thought they weren't, so my mistake.

They had some lovely looking boxes of satsumas today.

Their mini stollen is to die for. Their snacks are good - they have good discounts on branded food. Stuff like fizzy water is v cheap there as are juices which are nice. The nappies are v good quality

Definitely get fruit & veg at Lidl - their avocadoes are the best I've found - better than Waitrose or greengrocers IME, slightly smaller but only ones to consistently ripen 'properly'. I also get cucumbers, tomatoes, potatoes, cabbage, apples etc etc etc. They have medjool dates on offer at mo as well - 2 packs for £something.

Mozzerella balls are good too - only 47p.
Cartons of passata great for easy pasta sauce etc.
Smoked salmon good, and whole chorizos.
Cheapest place I've found for free range eggs.
Frozen breaded camembert = yummy!
They also do a huge selection of processed stuff - loving the apricot jam filled, chocolate covered gingerbread hearts at moment!
Their cereals are meant to be good too, DP and DD eat their own brand weetabix with no complaints.
I usually get kitchen roll and toilet roll there too, you can tell the difference with toilet roll but its fine for the price.

Probably loads more I can't think of right now. I have to admit I'm wary of their meat and fish - probably wrong to be without giving it a try but there you go. Smoked salmon and chorizo I discovered by trying at my Mum's first then starting to buy too so should give more things a try I guess!

Their nougat is to die for. Its by the Christmas chocs etc in our local one. I think it makes a nice gift if you're going to a friends' for dinner, little bize size pieces individually wrapped, great with coffee. I nearly missed it but then noticed a posh old bird loading her trolley up with it. I always watch out for the posh old birds in Lidl and see what they buy. [mad stalker]

Also chocolate marzipan. Mmmmmmm.

would second the olive oil and also the balsamic vinegar. They do dead cheap smoked salmon trimmings too which is great for pasta and scrambled eggs. And fruit and veg of course.
but barf! Coffee yogurt??!

maybe stating the obvious, but think German...

The fruit and veg can be better than the so-called "better" supermarkets, just see what's there at the time.

Stroopwaffels are a real favourite for our family, a lot of treat items are good and less expensive than elsewhere.

They have the enormous pots of yoghurt (1kg) in several flavours (including yummy greek), which we also like a lot.

I also like the soaps.

Tea and coffee (though better for ground). Dallmayer is nice, expat Germans are very pleased to discover it here!!

If it wasn't for the fact that I do so much shopping online, I would get meat from our local market, and pretty much everything else from Lidl!

Honestly clutterqueen, it was lovely! Only other place I've ever bought it before was Switzerland, so was so chuffed to find it there. Might just have to go on holiday to Switzerland instead - dh can blame Lidl.

Wow - thanks for all the responses !!
I will definitely be going there for a big shop this week. I do like all things German, so that's a good start !

I did make a fleeting visit a couple of weeks ago, and bought a big tub of the Greek yoghurt one of you mentioned and I was quite impressed with it. Less than half the price of the one I usually buy at Waitrose.

Procecco is good there

all the cold meats are lovely
you can get a reasonable sized free range chicken for about five pound
big pump bottles of antibac soap much cheaper, toothpaste is fine, as are tooth brushes, nappies, wipes, toilet roll, tissues, etc.
olive oil is fine.
flour is good quality and reasonable.
free range eggs cheap!
gingerbread shapes are lovely at the moment.
pet food is good quality
fruit juices are in big cartons and very reasonable.
veg is fine
cleaning products are good and reasonable
oh and foil and clingfilm/freezer bags/greaseproof papaer all really good value and high quality

oh and the coffee - if you like strong coffee, the espresso in the round tins is good!

pet food and big bags of crisps

I get sugar there (not fair trade like most supoermarkets but pennies count with me)

The fropzen part baked wholemarl and rye bread rolls

My brither uses their own brand cleaning stuff (says it is great) and liquid hand soap. I now have to take my own soap if I go round as I'm allergic to the lidl stuff.

cold meats
chocolate
pesto
orange juice with bits in glass bottles
parmesan
yoghurt
continental biscuits
stollen